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PRINTED BY JACOB GIDEON, JR. 

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MeXsrn to way. 

PEBIANDER. 



ADDRESS 



Gentlemen of the PhilodemSc Society: 

The usual formality id appearing before you, on the 
present occasion, would be to express my thanks for the 
honor which you have been pleased to confer on me. This 
I not only comply with, as a custom, but I beg you to be- 
lieve, that I do so with the deepest and most cordial senti- 
ments of which I am capable. For, your invitation calls 
me back to my own alma mater, and surrounds me with 
congenial scenes and congenial faces. Once more does it 
bring me to tread the consecrated ground of my childhood ; 
and to breathe, after no little weariness in the bustle of life, 
under the shade of those hallowed trees, which, when I 
sported under their foliage as a child, were tender and 
young, like my own spirit, and pliable to the direction 
given by the hands of those who planted them where they 
have clasped their roots. 

Joyously, and complacently — T must own it — do I cast 
my eyes around these familiar scenes. The gray turrets — 
the beauteous gardens — the undulating hills — the smiling 
valleys — the pellucid waters, winding like a serpent through 
the forests , and, like the fairy streams of poesy and science, 
refreshing, varying and beautifying grot and grove, through 
which they gurgle and play. Then, are these faces, which, 
from my boyish days, have been natural as those of nearest 
kin ; persons, whose hearts seemed ever to dilate in my re- 
gard, and whose merit is known to me, and appreciated by 
all the world. There are, moreover, in the silent recesses 
of the ancient garden, the quief, rural graves of some who 
loved me, and whom I loved. The willow tree waves its 
drooping branches over them, and the lone bird soothes the 



spirit of the place with melancholy notes, the untaught re* 
quiem of the warbler of the dead. To find myself again 
amid such scenes, fraught with the sweetest and most sacred 
associations, and that by your express invitation, is, gentle- 
men, a favor for which I cannot be too thankful, an honor 
deserving all my gratitude. 

How to remunerate you for your kindness, is, I cannot 
but acknowledge, a question that seriously perplexes me. 
You, no doubt, expect a formal oration — and that, too, upon 
a subject fresh and interesting. What subject shall I select 
from among so many that crowd before me, that may, at 
once, please and instruct you ? Shall I speak of patriotism, 
the love of country, of the people, which the original de- 
nomination of your Society implies ? Shall I speak of 
Liberty, a theme hackneyed as it is inspiring ? Or of Ora- 
tory ? Or of Taste ? Or of Literature ? Any one of which 
topics would be well suited to the present time and place. 
No; I will leave them all, and direct your attention to a 
more practical theme, namely, Excellence. Not, indeed, 
intending to enter into a deep disquisition on the nature of 
real Excellence, but merely, in a few words, to examine 
what are the principal obstacles to the attainment of that 
greatness to which every free and generous heart aspires. 
. I assume, as a proposition which cannot be disputed, that 
every noble and ingenuous heart longs for greatness. This 
aspiration — like that after happiness — excites the spirit, 
warms the heart, animates the whole being. The Soul, from 
its very nature, is ever tending towards perfection — never 
satisfied with the object it has attained — but panting and 
anhelating after better and higher things. Ardent in the 
pursuit of Excellence, that principle stirs up all its affections, 
puts in motion all its energies, and engrosses all its thoughts. 
To you, most amiable young men, I appeal : is there not 
within your breasts an abiding tendency towards Excellence? 
and would you not brand as low and craven that spirit which 
could rest satisfied in obscurity, lie dormant in the midst of 



the stirring events that lead to greatness, and linger, without 
energy or activity, in the body which it animates, only to 
conduct it to an ignoble grave ! You know — the genius of 
.history has taught you — that the principle of Excellence it 
was that gave life to the arts and sciences, effect and wisdom 
to laws, stability and consolidation to governments. It was 
the same that infused moral into action, and caused the Phi- 
losopher to write, the Legislator to decree, and the Patriot 
to act. 

The man who is influenced by this noble principle, stu- 
dies every resource by which he may attain his object. 
Mark, young gentlemen, I speak not of false greatness — not 
of that imaginary thing which has troubled the peace of 
individuals, and shaken nations to their centre ; but of that 
which is synonimous with Excellence and Virtue. In pur- 
suing this greatness, every means of success will be resorted 
to by the aspiring heart. Turning aside from the seducing 
hallucinations of self-love and egotism, it will, with untiring 
perseverance, tend onward to that glorious reality, which 
has given to all great men their elevation and their charac- 
ter. In order, therefore, that you may not be deceived by 
the misrepresentations of error, or led astray by the strong 
force of passion, it will be necessary to examine what are 
the principal obstacles to true greatness — and, by discover- 
ing them, you will be enabled, under the guidance of truth 
and wisdom, to take the proper and only path that will con- 
duct you to that noble end. 

We may say of Excellence what Fontenelle has observed 
of happiness — that every one speaks of it, but few under- 
stand it. And though it has formed the subject of innume- 
rable philosophic disquisitions, it has not been brought down 
so practically to the apprehension of the people, as to cause 
them to derive for themselves all the advantages and useful* 
ness it contains. 

1. I regard as the first obstacle to Excellence, the want of 
courage and perseverance. There is a two fold courage — 



the one of mind, the other of heart — both necessary in the 
acquirement of greatness — and consequently the want of 
either will render its attainment impossible. The former is 
the attribute of reason, the latter of moral. Man acts 
under this two fold principle in proportion as he reflects, 
compares, analyzes, foresees: but above all, in proportion 
as he accustoms himself to the vigorous and elevating influ- 
ence of religion. For, after all, in religion alone true great- 
ness can be found. " God alone is great/' From him, as 
from its source, emanates all greatness — and you must be 
convinced, that neither mental courage, nor the courage of 
the heart can be had, unless they be awakened by the quick- 
ning impulses, and strengthened by the plastick energies of 
divine religion. 

Virtue, then, is necessary for the attainment of Excel- 
lence. For virtue is inseparable from religion. Virtue is 
another word for courage : they are so identified, so essen- 
tially tautoligical, that you cannot form two different ideas 
in expressing the two different words. " Virtus nescia 
vinci" must sustain man in his progress to greatness. 
Nought should be able to retard it, much less to prevent it 
altogether. Self-interest must be sacrificed ; sloth must be 
conquered ; temptation subdued ; every difficulty overcome; 
every obstacle removed. In a word, courage — true, bold 
and unconquerable — under all dangers and all perplexities, 
must uphold, invigorate and urge forward the soul in the pur- 
suit of excellence. Vain would be the desire to become great, 
if action and perseverance were wanting. The height of 
the mountain will never be attained, unless we climb its 
rugged steep ; and " who can tell how hard it is to climb" 
that steep ? How can you become great in letters, if not by 
unremitting study ? How great in arms, if not by struggling 
on amid the dust and desolation of the battle field ? How 
great in science, if not by continued and persevering advan- 
ces into the mysterious regions of philosophy and nature ? 
For all this, courage — lofty, intrepid courage — is necessary. 



By this virtue, all great men have been led to the renown 
which they have acquired. I do not mean that you should 
have the 

Triste supercilium durique severa Catonis 
Frons , 

but rather, the wise, self-regulating, patriotic courage of an 
Epaminondas — or that still grander, still nobler, of the Fa- 
ther of our Country, the immortal Washington. Perhaps 
the whole substance of my idea may be still more compre- 
hensively expressed by him who well knew how to incul- 
cate lessons of the sublimest philosophy: "nemo accipit 
bravium, nisi qui currit in stadio." 

Where such courage is wanting, sloth will soon exercise 
its baleful influence over the heart and mind ; and when that 
prevails, all the virtues, like the fairest blossoms under the 
mildew, fade and wither. The dominion of sloth, is like 
that of Erebus, black and chaotick ; it is extended over dis- 
order, decay, ruin. And yet, it is, at first, pleasing to the 
consenting heart. It has apparent fascinations — it is not 
without its Circean music, not to yield to the strains of 
which, it will be necessary for you to imitate the courage- 
ous example of Ulysses. 

Each sound, too, here, to languishment inclined, 

Lulled the weak bosom, and induced to ease ; 

Aerial music in the warbling wind 

At distance rising oft by slow degrees 

Nearer and nearer came, 'till o'er the trees 

It hung, and breathed such soul- dissolving airs, 

As did, alas ! with soft perdition please : 

Entangled deep in its enchanting snares 

The listening heart forgets all duties and all cares. 

The victim of sloth sinks down into the dull waters of ob- 
livion, whose surface is without a ripple — stagnant as the 
pool of death. The poet, the philosopher, the hero, whose 
names are transmitted to us, have been wafted on the fresh 



8 

and ever-flowing stream gushing from the fountains of heart 
and mind, over which courage has acted, and perseverance 
has exercised its unremitting toil. Study, activity, energy, 
fortitude, have been the springs of noble and immortal ac- 
tions. 

By acts like these 
Laconia nursed her hardy sons of old, 
And Rome's unconquered legions urged their way 
Unhurt, through every toil and every clime. 

To have made some advances towards Excellence, is not 
sufficient. The journey onward must be steady and perse- 
vering. No matter how distant the goal, or in what mists 
of obscurity involved, diligence will abridge the length, and 
shine, like a guiding star, through the shade. Blind confi- 
dence, flattering self-esteem, are not the principles of great- 
ness ; but wise foresight, cautious advances, and especially 
manly constancy, which rally and strengthen the energies 
of soul and body. It follows, therefore, that despondency 
or weakness are insuperable impediments to the attainment 
of Excellence. You should remember, that the removal of 
one difficulty is often but making room for a new one ; the 
overcoming of one obstacle but the preparation for a fresh 
struggle with a more stubborn one ; the destruction of one 
enemy the mere production of a fiercer antagonist. 

Ye, then, who aspire to greatness, quail not before the 
changes of fortune's brow ; be not elated with her bewitch- 
ing smiles ; nor stricken down by her adverse power much 
less inebriated by her brim-full goblet of success. Young 
men, before whose vision the wide horizon of the future 
expands, all cloudless and beauteous, stretching like the rain- 
bow from the hills on which your youth now gambols, to the 
vales down which your years will decline, believe not the 
syren which tells you that you will have nought to struggle 
with — prepare, on the contrary, for disappointment and 
adversity. Here, in these peaceful haunts of learning, 



while you "stretch your listless limbs" on the florid banks 
of the streams, in whose limpid mirror the calm, unwrinkled 
forehead is reflected, be assured, in time, that the day-dream 
of greatness, in which you love to indulge, never can be 
realized, without encountering a thousand unforeseen and 
nameless difficulties. But, then, be courageous — be firm \ 
under all circumstances, bear in mind the philosophic maxim 
of the Roman lyric : 

iEquam memento rebus in arduis 

Servare mentem. 

2. The second obstacle to Excellence is prejudice. Pre- 
judice, the offspring of ignorance, has such power over the 
mind, that it not only inflames, but blinds and enslaves it. 
Its dominion is so widely extended that the greatest geniuses 
are not exempt from its tyranny. The definition of preju- 
dice given by Bacon, is as correct as it is ingenius. " It is," 
he says, " a kind of magic lanthorn, through which every 
object appears shadowy and monstrous." The failings of 
others viewed through this deceptious medium assume the 
magnitude of enormous vices ; and the most puny difficulties 
are exaggerated into terrific obstacles, against which it were 
vain to hope to contend. To the moral sight, vitiated thus 
by prejudice, every thing is confused and out of order. 
A clear perception of objects cannot be obtained — the fairest 
views are rendered unseemly — the brightest, clouded — the 
grandest, mean : and thus proper ideas are unattainable, of 
virtue, of right, of honor, of magnanimity, of generosity — 
and consequently of true greatness and excellence. 

Behold, therefore, the necessity of liberating the mind, 
as soon as possible, from the pernicious influence of preju- 
dice. And yet, how many are found, among our fellow-be- 
ings, to labor under that influence ? Some, entertaining 
prejudices against individuals, and thus unwilling to be in- 
structed by their wisdom, or directed by their prudence. 
Some, against such and such an author, without, perhaps, 
2 



10 

ever having read his works, and thus forfeiting all the ad- 
vantages which they would otherwise, and which others 
actually do, derive from his writings. Some, against cer- 
tain politicians, statesmen, legislators, without being able 
to tell why, and perhaps unjustly— -for they have never in- 
vestigated their merits — using all their own talents, and 
exerting those of others likewise, against men, whom not 
a few regard as lights and ornaments, 4b lumina atque orna- 
menta Reip." Some, again, beset with national prejudica- 
tions, despise every government except their own — and em- 
phatically ask, when there is question of worth or merit, 
whether any good can come from Nazareth ! — whether it 
is possible for any institution not their own, to be praise- 
worthy or useful ? Hence the caricatures termed travels, 
tours, &c. &c. , of certain men, who, radically infested with 
national prejudices, go abroad into foreign climes, and un- 
ceremoniously brand in print whatever comports not with 
their own narrow views, or is, in any way, alien from that 
selfish norma which their imaginations have formed of 
greatness or perfection. Others, in fine, impregnated with 
the worst of all prejudices — religious prejudices — can see 
nothing proper, much less sublime, in any creed save that 
which was inculcated into their infant minds. Believe me, 
young gentlemen, the most fierce, the most dangerous of all 
prejudices, are religious prejudices. They will urge man 
on to condemn, to persecute, to burn, to torture, in every 
barbarous variety of manner; and if you ask whether they 
who act thus know why they act, you will find that they 
have never studied the subject — that they are actuated by 
mere passion, and are condemning, persecuting, burning, 
and torturing, from prejudice. You may be perfectly con- 
vinced -of this, that no man, haunted by such prejudices, 
whether individual, political, literary, national or religious, 
can hope to acquire Excellence. It cannot subsist with 
prejudice; they are, by their nature, so heterogeneous, that 






11 

it is impossible to associate them. The way to greatness 
lies through so many different scenes, is so perplexed with 
varying objects, and withal, so sinuous in its direction, that 
it requires the clearest sight, the wisest caution, and the 
most unbiassed and discriminating judgment in the aspirant 
after success. 

All prejudices are pernicious, but those most so, which 
are the offspring of self-love ; actuated by which, man fool- 
ishly deems himself able to judge and act in all matters, 
without any guide or monitor. He frames to his deluded 
mind his own notion of Excellence, and carries that out, in 
all his actions and aspirings, taking no heed of counsel, and 
regarding as unworthy his attention whatever is not conge- 
nial to his fond prepossessions. How can such an individual 
become great ? How Excellent ? 

It becomes you, gentlemen, while yet your minds are ten- 
der, to give them, by adopting the noble principles inculca- 
ted in these academic halls, a proper tendency to Excellence. 
It should be a part — and no unimportant part — of your pre- 
sent studies, to learn how to destroy prejudice ; to study the 
philosophy of impartial investigation of men and things ; to 
profit by the experience of those, and the nature of these, 
in aiming at Excellence. I know that prejudice takes early 
root in the opening mind. Hence the deep and lasting im- 
pressions of boyhood — hence the avidity with which the 
childish ear drinks in tales of marvel and romance — the idea 
of ghosts and nightly apparitions, and fantastic shapes with 
which the nursery abounds, and the young imagination is 
disturbed. There are few who will not own with me : 

Full many a tale of fairy and of sprite 

My wonder roused, and filled me with affright 5 

My blood ran cold, my bosom throbbed with dread, 

To hear the awful stories of the dead. 

How they appeared at night, forlorn :nd sad, 

To haunt the fa.thiess, and chastise the bad. 



12 

And oft I feared to venture out by night, 
Lest some pale spectre should invade my sight. 
And when I flung me down upon my bed, 
I thought ten thousand ghosts were at my head. 

3. From prejudice, which, you have seen, is an unsur- 
mountable impediment to Excellence, I pass to the third 
obstacle; namely, the want of proper education. The ad- 
vantages, the necessity of a finished education, for all the 
sublime purposes of life, need not to be enforced before 
such an audience. The zeal with which you are engaged 
in the acquirement of learning, the diligence and emulation 
which have distinguished you during the past year, and 
which have called forth from your Professors a high eulogy 
of your merit, are a sufficient test of your convictions on 
this important subject. Go on, then, young men : profit by 
your present advantages, drink deep of the stream of Heli- 
con ; follow, with untiring spirits, the genius of education, 
now through flowery vales, then over rugged hills, anon 
through fresh and fragrant groves, and then again through 
barren and thorny plains — follow on, I say ; the end of your 
journey will be, at last, accomplished, and the palm of Ex- 
cellence be yours. 

The object of education is to develope and perfect the 
physical, intellectual and moral faculties. Where these are 
not thus perfected, education cannot be complete. The de- 
velopement of the physical powers renders the constitution 
strong and robust; that of the intellectual gives a prompt 
perception, and sound judgment, by which the mind is en- 
riched with varied information — the springs of science are 
unlocked — the production of talent and art are appreciated, 
and a lofty emulation is awakened, which urges us forward 
to follow the footsteps of those who have trodden the paths 
of excellence/ The developement of the moral faculties — 
and this forms the principle object of education— renders 
man apt to receive, and willing to follow, the lessons of wis- 



18 

dom — to fulfil all duties — to be just, honest, beneficient, 
patriotic, religious, and establishes the conviction of what I 
have before hinted — that true greatest cannot exist without 
virtue. 

This threefold developement is absolutely necessary. 
In the completion of excellence each one must be found in 
its proper place, and producing its becoming action. What 
were physical strength without intellectual culture? A man 
might, indeed, possess vigor and nerve, and be useful in 
certain circumstances — he might, like Milo, fell the huge 
ox to the -ground with a single stroke — or like a gigantic 
gladiator, cleave down, as a sapling, his athletic antagonist; 
but he would act without reflection and intelligence. Suppos- 
ing the same individual to enjoy the developement of his in- 
tellectual faculties, also; to possess all the knowledge, litera- 
ry and scientific, that can fall to the lot of man; from these, 
indeed, he might derive incalculable advantages. He 
might, like Homer, describe the wars of gods and demigods 
— like Tully wield the thunders of oratory — like Newton 
soar into the planetary spheres — but, if he be deprived of 
moral developement, he will use all his talents to the detri- 
ment of society — he will disregard virtue, justice, honor,— 
and could not possess that excellence to which your view is 
now directed — moral as well as intellectual. 

In this flourishing University, every thing combines to 
afford its alumni this triple developement of the faculties. 
The physical are brought into play, and braced with vigor, 
from the beauty and salubriousness of the situation. Wheth- 
er the eye turns upon the woodland scenery on one side — 
or rests on the varied objects of town and city on another — ■ 
or sketches down the broad Potomac on another — it meets 
with cheerful scenes, exhilarating views. From the deep 
glades and verdant hills, the breezes of summer come to 
visit you, in freshness and fragrance, wafting around your 
abode the sweet odors of clover, wild flower and vine. The 






14 

cool shades of the bowers that cover one of the finest walks in 
the world, invite to exercise; the clear stream, limpid as the 
fountain of Brundusium, "splendidior vitro," affords an op- 
portunity of tightning the sinews by bathing in its waters — 
manly games, gymnastic amusements, are encouraged; exer- 
cises which impart strength and elasticity to the frame — cheer- 
fulness and buoyancy to the soul. What shall I say of the 
second developement — that of the intellectual faculties ? No 
youth can possess more ample advantages, in this respect, 
than you are blessed with. The Professors, under whose 
care and tuition you are placed, adorned with all the graces 
and refinements of taste and literature. The course you 
pursue, fitted to accomplish and perfect the mind. The 
proximity to the Capitol — where you may listen to the sen- 
tentious and perspicuous oratory of a Webster, the rapid and 
popular harangues of a Clay, the copious and kindling elocu- 
tion of a Calhoun. There, while your intellectual faculties 
are improved by the eloquence of such men, your patriotism 
is awakened — your love of liberty, of right, of justice — your 
hatred of tyranny, oppression and fraud, roused and in- 
flamed. 

With regard to the developement of the moral faculties, 
one word will suffice. You are taught the lessons of virtue, 
the doctrines of religion. Of virtue, pure, disinterested and 
practical — of religion, enlightened, sincere, tolerant and 
philanthropic. I appeal to you all, young gentlemen, but 
especially to those among you differing from us in points of 
faith, whether, while your Professors insist on the practice 
of virtue, and the necessity of religion, they have ever made 
an attempt to proselytize you by unbecoming and undue in- 
fluence? But, on the contrary, whether they have not 
evinced towards you the same regard, attention, interest and 
solicitude, as towards those of your companions who belong 
to the communion of the church. Well may the lines of 
West be applied to you all without distinction : 



15 

Yes, happy youths, on Camus' sedgy side 
You feel each joy that friendship can divide : 
Each realm of science and of art explore, 
And with the ancient blend the modern lore. 
Studious alone to learn whate'er may tend 
To raise the genius, or the heart to mend. 

4. We approach, now, the last of those obstacles to 
excellence, on which it is my intention to dwell — the inor- 
dinate passions. Well has Young described their effect, in 
two lines : 

"While passions glow, the heart, like heated steel, 
Takes each impression, and is worked at pleasure. 

Yet, it is only the excess that is to be condemned : for when 
they are regulated and restrained by religion and judgment, 
they are aids, instead of being impediments to Excellence. 
Thus disciplined, they are the aliment of the soul ; in so 
much that without their action, man would lapse into apa- 
thy, indolence, insensibility, and become paralyzed and 
inert. Not the passions, therefore, but the disordinate pas- 
sions, are obstacles to Excellence. When these have ac- 
quired dominion over man, he is their victim, their prey. 
He seems to live only for them — he sacrifices repose, for- 
tune, health, happiness, to them — and becomes an idolator 
at the shrine of ambition, avarice, and voluptuousness. 

How can any individual, whose heart is devoured by 
unlawful ambition, arrive at Excellence ? The inordinately 
ambitious man will trample upon probity and honor, in order 
to accomplish his ends — consequently, in the Temple of 
Excellence there will be no niche for him. In his view, 
what is friendship, what the bond of consanguinity ? No- 
thing whatever. Rather than not reach the pinacle to which 
he soars, he would ascend over the tenderest and most sacred 
relations of life, and step, as on the grades of a ladder, over 
the bodies of his fellow-beings. With this kind of ambition 
many other vices are leagued : — baseness, adulation, perfidy, 



16 

revenge, calumny and its confederates; all of which are hos- 
tile to noble sentiments, disinterested action and genuine 
greatness. It cares not for virtue — it is timid, false, change- 
able ; rejoices in nothing but its own glory, and delights in 
the failure and downfall of other men ; as if the calamities 
of others were a prop and consolidation of its own towering 
schemes. The author of the " Love of Fame," paints, with 
a master style, the woful consequences of vicious ambition, 
w r hen he exclaims : it 

Made bold Alphonsus his Creator blame, 
Empedocles hurled down the burning steep — 
And stranger still, made Alexander weep. 

In your aspirings after Excellence, let not ambition like 
this seize on your minds. But repress not a virtuous ambi- 
tion — that elevating principle which has inspired all great 
and good men ; and without which, no magnanimous act 
could be effected, no noble object be attained. This princi- 
ple of action is nothing different from that love of Excel- 
lence which is characteristic of a great mind, and which has 
its origin in virtue — or rather, with more propriety it should 
be said — which is virtue itself. 

Avarice is incompatible with Excellence ; much more so 
than vicious ambition. For, while the former urges one 
man to squander away treasures as well as blood, in order 
to grasp the phantom he pursues — the latter locks up in the 
cold depths of his heart every energy, and in the brazen 
coffers every penny : ever loth, in dark despondency, and 
fretful solicitude, watches and pines the withering miser. 
Hugging, with imaginary delight, as objects of real happi- 
ness, those treasures which are but the means of procuring 
happiness. His lust for lucre never abater — the more he 
possesses the more he pants for; " semper avarus eget." 
In his estimation, nothing is worth a wish, much less an 
effort, but gold and silver ; to hoard up which, he will sacri- 



17 

fice every feeling of humanity. He will betray his friends 
— sell his conscience — barter his country : 
Vendidit hie auro patriam. 

How little does such a grovelling wretch understand the 
beautiful philosophy of Pope, when paying a merited tribute 
to Bathurst, he exclaims : 

The sense to value riches, with the art 

T* enjoy them, and the virtue to impart, 

Not meanly, nor ambitiously pursued, 

Nor sunk by sloth, nor raised by servitude, 

To balance fortune by a just expense, 

Join with economy, magnificence ; 

With splendor, charity ; with plenty, health, 

Oh, teach us Bathurst ! — 
Guided by such principles, the man of wealth enjoys the 
means of facilitating his way to Excellence. He can afford 
an opportunity to the widow to proclaim it — the orphan to 
feel it — and the establishments of religion to immortalize it. 
A still greater obstacle to Excellence is voluptuousness. 
Intent upon degrading pursuits, what idea can the man, la- 
bouring under the tyranny of this passion, form of greatness 
or worth ? Behold him skulking along with shame depicted 
on his countenance ; stamped, like Cain, with the maledic- 
tion of virtue and heaven — his eye dreads the light of sun 
or moon, and his being is wasted, until he becomes a bur- 
then to himself, unfit for any generous purpose ; sad, solitary 
and wretched. Is such a being capable of any thing like 
greatness ? Debased in the gratification of his passions, he 
lies inert, useless to society ; nay, branded with the stigma 
of disgrace, and condemned, as it were, to the anticipated 
corruptions of the grave. 

Believe me, young gentlemen, these, and all other inor- 
dinate passions, are obstacles — positive and unsurmountable 
— to real greatness and excellence j and it is your duty, as 
well as interest, to convince yourselves, at an early period, 
that to become excellent, you must first conquer every law- 



IS 

less passion. Ambition, avarice, sensuality, must be con- 
quered—jealousy, revenge, envy, must find no place in the 
heart that yearns for greatness. For, in the language of 
Armstrong — 

Fear and jealousy fatigue the soul, — 

Engross the subtle ministers of life, 

And spoil the laboring functions of their share. 

Hence the sear gloom that melancholy wears, 

***** and the sallow hue 

Of envy, jealousy : the meagre stare 

Of sore revenge. — 

From what has been said, you perceive that the attainment 
of Excellence is no easy thing. The obstacles that lie in 
the way are many — and without the aid of virtue and perse- 
verance — insuperable. Is not the subject w r orthy the atten- 
tion of generous and aspiring hearts ? Hearts like those 
which beat in the breasts of the youth, high and patriotic, 
whom I am now addressing? You have followed me with 
attention — and though somewhat abstract my theme, the 
subject matter, interesting to young men just starting on the 
arena of life, could not fail to enlist your feelings, and exer- 
cise your judgment. Keep, then, this object in view — in 
any pursuit in which you may hereafter engage, be this 
your goal — aim at Excellence. If that be letters or science ; 
law or diplomacy ; oratory or poetry, or history ; or any 
other branch of learning, rest not satisfied with mediocrity. 
For, what Horace remarks of one profession, may, with 
equal justice, be applied to every other: 

Mediocribus esse poetis 
Non Dii, non homines, non concessere columns. 

Keep before your e} T es those models of Excellence whom 
history has cherished in her annals, for the instruction and 
imitation of posterity. Those lights which have shed an 
undying lustre through the gloom of ages ; and which, nei- 
ther rivalry could eclipse, nor time extinguish j but which 



19 

burn on with greater splendor, in proportion as other lumi- 
naries arise, and shine around them, in the firmament of 
glory. 

Our own Alma Mater rejoices in the names of some of the 
most distinguished ornaments of the Republic. As she un- 
folds the parchments on which they are recorded, she dwells 
with peculiar complacency on a Gaston, a Walsh, and many 
others. The first, famed throughout the entire country for 
his profound legal acquirements, his chaste and touching elo- 
quence, his magnanimous love of justice, and above all, his 
spotless and transcendent character. The second, admired 
as a general scholar, a philosophical and copious writer ; 
possessing wit that flashes from his tongue, and powers of 
communicating thought, extraordinary and unrivalled. 

How many other names might I not mention, of which 
our university is proud — and justly proud ? In almost every 
department of Excellence, she can point her finger to her 
own alumni ; and in doing so, " remember," she thus ad- 
dresses you, young men, " the same facilities which they 
enjoyed are now in your hands. The system of education, 
which formed them to Excellence, will have the same effect 
in your regard, if you but put to profit the advantages it 
holds forth." 

That you will, we love to flatter ourselves there is no 
doubt — your Professors expect it — your parents anticipate 
it — your country demands it. I feel certain of the result — 
I cherish the pleasing hope, that among those who have lis- 
tened to me, on this occasion, there will be some, whose 
names will be renowned in the records of their country, — 
names to which some future orator before the Philodemic 
Society will revert with glorious emotion, to stimulate to 
Excellence the admiring youths, who will fill these benches 
in after years. Dixi. 



